Getting the final season on DVD is often tricky

Then fans don’t have to worry about collectus interruptus: when you start buying a show’s season sets, only to see the studio suspend releases before all seasons come out.

“It’s a common complaint,” says Gord Lacey, who runs TVShowsonDVD.com, the Web’s go-to site for news and data on series releases. “They start to buy a five-season series, and it gets to Season 3, and then nothing else gets released.”

Just ask fans of “Malcolm in the Middle” – first-season DVD in 2002; none since, with six to go. Or fans of coroner drama “Crossing Jordan” – Season 1 out in 2008; five seasons still no-go. Even tube landmarks get discontinued, like “NYPD Blue” (four seasons out, 2003-2006; with eight unreleased) and “Hill Street Blues” (two out in 2006, five unreleased). But the real heartbreaker may be Fox’s animated fave “King of the Hill.” Its DVD run reached halfway – six seasons out 2003-2006 – then nothing, leaving collectors seven seasons short.

Some shows do eventually start up again. This month, Season 3 of sitcom “George Lopez” lands on DVD shelves after a six-year wait. (Still to go: Seasons 4-6.) Four years after its previous set, the Michael J. Fox comedy “Family Ties” resumed on DVD in April; Season 7 completes the run Aug. 13.

Third parties can rescue stalled shows, too. The pop culture mavens at DVD distributor Shout! Factory stepped up to create complete-series boxes after studios stopped midway on “Barney Miller” (after three seasons, of eight), “Route 66” (three, of four), “Leave It to Beaver” (two, of six), and “The Larry Sanders Show” (one and a best-of, out of six seasons).

Other series find renewed life online, as manufactured-on-demand DVDs not available in stores. WarnerArchive.com has become a busy seller of previously stalled series from several studios. After ’80s sitcom “Night Court” offered its first three seasons at retail, the other six have been made available by mail. That’s how Showtime’s “The Big C” is finishing its DVD run. Currently continuing on disc at Warner Archive are “Knots Landing,” “Falcon Crest,” “Cheyenne,” “Party of Five,” “Rules of Engagement,” “The Ricky Gervais Show” and – fittingly, considering how some shows vanish altogether — “Without a Trace.”